Originally published in Vino and Voyage, my Substack newsletter featuring Miami dining news & events, wine & travel stories, and real talk on working in wine & media. I wanted to share a taste of that publication here on my original blog. Subscribe if you wish to read more articles like this.
This year, I spent a lot of time on the road. I made it out to California four times, Napa twice, Paso Robles, and Murphys in the Sierra Foothills, which is really unusual for me in a single year. Typically, I’m flying the other way, towards France, Italy, or Spain. But I really do enjoy spending time out West and learning more about our own wine industry here in the U.S. Sometimes, we forget that as Americans, we do have our own little slice of history and wine, albeit maybe a much shorter one than some of the other places I frequent.
My trip to the Sierra Foothills was hosted by a winery called Ironstone Vineyards. I came to Ironstone, and the little town of Murphys, not knowing what to expect, but it felt like maybe it would be a relaxing swirl-through of California wines. Perhaps a vineyard tour, a few tasting notes, and some soil talk. You know—the usual. Some of these trips that focus on one winery can be way more relaxing than regional tours.
What I got instead? A huge relic of the Gold Rush, dinner conversation that veered into outer space, ancient giants in the forest, and a rock concert that lit up the night.
Turns out, sometimes a wine trip isn’t just a wine trip. It can be a multi-sensory, time-traveling, genre-bending journey.
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